mistral-pen-kit-review

I provide all the jucy technical specs at the end of this page. This is photo heavy but I really want to show off certain things which should be a HUGE help to pen makers.

Bushings, The ridged ones are from Phil, the TBC ones (2 extreme left and 2 extreme right) are made by Brian Nikitas to my measured specs of the kit and tube. My pet peeve is bushings need to provide support and in order to do that they need to grip. The provided bushings are taper cut so you can use them TBC (with a dead center in the head stop and a live 60 degree center in the tail stock)

:Areas to Pay Strong Attention to:

The end of lower tube, the finial. Here the cap unscrews and provides a sharp corner. This may not be a problem for many materials but *some* materials it can be a problem. soft materials or brittle materials it can crack, chip, fracture and the like. Most kit designs has some coverage of metal to support the corners, this end however does not. Once the end cap is screwed in place it does provide support.

The second area I would like to point out is in many cheap chinese kits on the market we see a non-match up between the removable cap and the indent ring, the cap does have a nice indentaion to fully encompase the the stop ring on the threads. With high end Dayacom kits we see a perfect match up to prevent pulling the press fit insert out of the brass tube. Here with the mistral we see that match up as well. Areas like this is your signature tail tell markers of exactly how much and what went into the design of the kit.

Here is the cap removed, clearly showing the unsupported areas of the pen blank. With the cap securely in place it should not be a problem.

The center band. This can be a problem area for many, dare I say those who are unobservant? So I have broken it down to show how the rings are applied.

As you get the kit there are TWO (2) rings, The thick ring goes in the center but the problem one is the smaller thinner one. One side has a ridge on it, that ridge is shown in the photo above. It IS directional!

Here is the difference between a $5 pen and a $100 pen The difference being the higher cost pen has serious attention to details from design to assembly. #1 shows the center band assembled properly, #2 shows what it looks like when you have that ring REVERSED.

The end cap is not pressed when you get it, this provides you with the ability to create your own insert.

:Technical Data:

:Manufacture:

Various sources

:Nib types:

Rollerball

Fountain pen, #5.5 size.

:Plating:

Base Plating

Ti-gold

Rhodium

Ring and Cabochon

Brushed Gold Ring with Ti-gold Cabochon

Ti-Gold Ring with Ti-Gold Cabochon

Rhodium Ring with Rhodium Cabochon

Black Titanium Ring with Black Ti Cabochon

:Upper Tube Diameter:

15/32" (11.77mm) or 0.464"

:Upper Tube Length:

1.814" (46mm) long

Upper Tube Bushings:

0.536 x 0.431 (13.61mm x 10.947mm)

0.536 x 0.431 (13.61mm x 10.947mm)

:Upper Tube Gap for blank material:

0.044" (1.14mm)

:Lower Tube Diamter:

25/64" (10mm) or 'X' bit

:Lower Tube Length:

2.561" (65mm) long

Lower Tube Bushings:

0.481 x 0.360 (12.2mm x 9.14mm)

0.445 x 0.360 (11.3mm x 9.14mm)

:Lower Tube Gap for Blank Material:

0.04845" (1.23063 mm)

0.032" (0.8128mm)

:Center Band:

Threading is M9.6 double lead Acme threads with controlled Major and Minor

to fully cap it takes 2 1/2 rotations.

Loose Fit Ring is Uni-directional (fits one direction for best view).

:Fountain Pen Nib:

Uses a Beaufort brand nib, feed and housing.

:Weight:

1.4 oz (41 grams)

:Weith Without Cap:

0.7 oz (20 grams)

Glue not needed with assembly due to tighter tolerances on the couplers.